Nodulous corpuscles and mitochondrial inclusions in Sertoli cells of deer hybrids

Unusual transformations of endoplasmic reticulum and mitochondria were identified in the Sertoli cells of deer hybrids. A portion of the mitochondrial population was converted from the common, flexible mitochondrial form into stiff rods, with an increased volume of the matrix and relative paucity of cristae. The matrix displayed arrays of tubuloid elements or percursors at various stages of assembly. The second and more conspicuous adaptation concerned the agranular endoplasmic reticulum, which frequently transformed into oval or elongate, often interconnected bodies. These bodies consisted of a dozen or more concentrically arranged fenestrated cisternae and a variable amount of glycogen in between. An integral and distinctive feature of the cisternous bodies was nodes, together constituting the so-called nodulous corpuscles (NC). The nodes appeared as a dense meshwork or lattice, which has the potential to generate a new set of cisternae and NC that interconnect into a chain or tridimensional complex. The course of NC evolution from precursors to mature complexes is proposed. Both organelle adaptations occurred independently and in only Sertoli cells. They are believed to be a product of hybridization in deer.